The one-time business tycoon, toppled in a 2006 coup, is visiting Japan just a fortnight after his sister Yingluck Shinawatra took power as Thailand's prime minister, raising questions about his influence over her government.
Thaksin, who is living in exile in Dubai to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, has angered his critics with his Japan visit -- until August 28 -- which many see as an attempt to make a return to the international stage.
His visit will include a tour of northeastern areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. On Tuesday he was due to give two speeches in Tokyo.
In a recent interview with Japan's Kyodo News agency, he said he wanted to assess what Thailand could do to help Japan.
"My intention is to visit the tsunami site to see whether we can render any kind of cooperation or assistance," he was quoted as saying.
He said help from Bangkok could possibly include assisting disaster-hit Japanese companies relocate to Thailand, or to issue long-stay visas to tsunami victims who want to recuperate in Thailand.
Thaksin reportedly insisted he is not officially involved with the new government led by Yingluck, telling Kyodo: "Leadership lies with the prime minister. I just give advice when needed. I don't give advice every day."
Thaksin, who served as Thai prime minister between 2001 and 2006, is loved by many poor Thais but seen by the Bangkok-based elite as authoritarian and a threat to the monarchy.
His removal from power by royalist generals heralded five years of political crises, both in the Thai parliament and on the streets, where his foes and supporters have held crippling rival protests.
They culminated in rallies by "Red Shirts" loyal to Thaksin last year, in which more than 90 people died in clashes between the army and demonstrators.
Yingluck, a political novice who her brother has described as his "clone", has raised the idea of an amnesty for convicted politicians.
While Yingluck's government denied making a specific visa request for Thaksin, Tokyo said Bangkok had asked it to allow in the former leader, making an exception to its normal entry rules concerning criminal convictions.
The previous Democrat-led government accused the fugitive of bankrolling the 2010 Red Shirt rallies and inciting unrest, and a Thai court last year approved an arrest warrant for him on terrorism charges.
An opinion poll published on Monday indicated most Thais want Thaksin to stay out of politics.
Almost 69 per cent said he should allow Yingluck to run the country by herself, compared with 20.5 per cent who said he should have a role, according to Assumption University of Thailand, which surveyed almost 2,200 people.
-AFP/wk
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